What is Love?
by ASLwriter88
Summary: When their daughter asks how you feel when you truly love someone, Harry and Hermione reminisce on their own relationship and are forced to tell a story of sacrifice and love.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Momma?"

Hermione was folding clothes in the bedroom when she heard the voice come from the doorway. Her daughter, Lily, stood there looking puzzled about something. Hermione smiled as she looked so much like herself at that age. The only difference was her eyes, which she had inherited from her father. She laughed to herself thinking of how many times people had reminded him over the years that he had his mother's eyes.

"Yes, Lily?" Hermione answered, beckoning her to come into the room. She was growing so fast but was still so small in her eyes. Even though she was still so young, sixteen years old to be exact, Hermione found herself betrayed, once again, by time. She had grown up to be so beautiful. And if what her brothers had said, she was very popular with the boys. From what Hermione could tell, however, she was more focused on her studies. _That's my girl!,_ she thought to herself. They both took a seat on the floor.

"Momma, I-" she looked like she was battling with her thoughts, quite similar to Hermione when she wanted to get something off her chest and express her feelings about something she felt strongly about. Finally, after a few moments, she nodded her head defiantly and looked up to meet her mother's eyes. "What does it feel like when you fall in love?"

Hermione sighed inwardly. She knew this day would eventually come but she was hoping it would not happen till after Hogwarts. She was kidding herself, however. It just showed how grown up her daughter was, and, for some reason, it made Hermione's heart ache a little with sadness.

Hermione thought on her answer."Well, sweetheart, love is complicated. People show love differently depending on the person." When Lily gave a quizzical look she continued. Hermione thought for a moment. _How do you put love into just one feeling?_ She looked up to meet her daughter's eyes but, for a brief second, found the eyes of her husband leaning against the door frame, as if waiting to hear the response himself. A goofy grin on his face. Lily did not seem to realize that Harry was standing there and with a smile, Hermione looked back to her daughter, her heart skipping a beat as she felt the gaze of the man she loved on her. "Love makes you feel like you can do anything."

"I'm still not sure I understand, momma." said Lily. "So it just makes you feel invincible?"

Harry smiled down at her from the doorway but still remained silent.

Hermione thought, again, how to best describe what she meant. "Well, that's part of it. When you love someone, you don't just experience one emotion. You feel all of them. Happiness, excitement, fear, sadness, and sometimes you will feel heartbreak."

"So, when you fall in love, you feel bad things, too?" Lily asked. "But why do people want to love if it makes you feel miserable?"

"Let me answer your question with another question." said Hermione. She looked up at Harry again, he smiled but was intrigued. Leave it to Hermione to quiz a child on love. "If Scorpius started hanging out with another girl and did not spend as much time with you, how would you feel?"

"I'd be upset. He's my best friend." answered Lily right away.

"So, in a way, you have a special love for him."

"Of course, I love him. Like I said, he's my best friend." Seeing where her mother was heading with this. "Have you ever been hurt by daddy?"

The smile from Harry's face fell and his expression became solemn, looking away from the two of them. He still remained in the doorway, ashamed of what was to come.

"Yes, I have."

"What happened?"

Harry did not know if he could handle this. It was one thing to have to think about that memory, but to have his little girl know about it was more than he could bare. He made to leave the doorway, when felt a hand close around his. He turned around and saw that Hermione had gotten to her feet and walked to him. She was smiling sadly at him but beckoned him to the floor with them. When he looked at his daughter she looked surprised to see he was there and, with a look of questioning in her eyes, smiled at him. She had always been daddy's little girl but how would she respond when she learned how selfish he had been.

Hermione was the first to speak. "Your daddy still has nightmares about this." She looked back at her daughter. "When I tell you this story, you must understand that your father never had love growing up. Grandma and Grandpa had died when he was one. Everyone around him was dying and he was The Chosen One." Harry flinched at the sound of the title. It was funny how Voldemort's name struck fear into everyone in the wizarding world, even after his death, but Harry flinched at the sound of the persona that was given to him by the Daily Prophet twenty years ago. "Your father did not understand what it meant to be in love either. The first time he had felt something close to love, was a week before the Battle of Hogwarts begun but he was afraid because people he loved were dying everywhere."

Harry rested his head against the bed frame, his eyes closed, thinking back all those years ago. At the memory that still haunted him more than Voldemort.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _Ron never came back to them. She had been upset for a long time, but she knew that there were things to be done. She was all he had left._

 _On the rare night that they were able to relax, they had shared secrets of their childhoods they had never told one another before. Some were solemn, but some made them laugh for what felt like hours. A rare commodity these days._

" _You turned your teacher's wig blue!" laughed Hermione, wiping away the tears forming in her eyes._

" _C'mon, I didn't know I was a wizard at the time. I didn't even know it was me doing it until I got my letter." Harry joined in the laughter. "Like you haven't done anything similar."_

" _Well, once I was being picked on by this really mean girl in my class. She had always hated me for some reason. But one day I had gotten so angry with her that all of a sudden it began raining spiders." admitted Hermione. "Of course, it was weird but I never thought of it being magic."_

" _Wow," said Harry, thunderstruck. "And I thought I was bad."_

 _She swatted his arm. "Oh shush."_

 _His thoughts turned somber. "So, you were picked on, too?" He could not help the urge to find those who had hurt her and beat the living daylights out of them._

" _Is it that surprising?" asked Hermione. She shrugged. "I was, still am, I suppose, an annoying, know-it-all bookworm."  
"No, you aren't." said Harry sternly. "You're brilliant." Hermione smiled at him weakly and for some reason, for the first time ever, Harry felt a shock to his heart. "Hermione, I'm sorry you were teased and picked on when you were little. You don't deserve it."_

" _Nor did you." Hermione said sympathetically._

 _It was Harry's turn to shrug. "I didn't let it bother me."_

" _But it did bother you, didn't it?" asked Hermione, scooting over on the couch toward him. "You tried to put on a brave face, but inside you were miserable. You longed for something to take you away from it all. You wanted nothing more in your life than to have love." At the last word, Harry's breath hitched. "I wish I had been there to help you. I hate the stories you tell about the Dursley's. No child should have to live like that." She took his hand in hers and Harry felt electricity flowing from her touch. What was happening to him? He'd never felt like this before. Was this… "Harry, I need to you know something." Her voice was becoming more frantic. "If I die tomorrow, I don't want you to go in life not knowing." Harry's heart began to hammer against his chest. He could not bare to hear it. The word that people had tried to say to him always ended up twisting itself into a bullseye and pasted itself on their backs._

 _He had to say something. "Please, Hermione, I can't." He pulled his hand out of her grasp. "I think I know what you are about to say, and I can't hear it."_

" _But, Harry." she said, surprised as he got to his feet suddenly. She needed to tell him. She had a bad feeling that if she did not tell him now, she would never get another chance. "Please…"_

 _Harry had his back to her and the last word felt like the sword of Gryffindor had plunged into his heart. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes but what he had no choice to say had to come out defiantly, without hesitation, even though he was sure it was going to kill him. He knew what his feelings to her had been all night. But he could not give in. She was all he had. So, he did the only thing he could think to do. The only thing that would keep her from saying it. He had to break her heart. He turned towards her again, his shoulders squared as he said the words that were completely untrue. "Hermione, I don't love you." he said, more forcefully than he had meant it to be._

 _Hermione stood up. Tears falling down her face. "Oh. I see." She quickly brushed the tears from her eyes. "I just thought…"_

" _Your my best friend…" Harry started but Hermione put up a hand to stop him._

" _Let's just destroy the final Horcrux." Hermione said, returning to her usual voice that told him it was time to work. But he could tell that this time, there was a certain hopelessness in her voice._

 _They had retrieved the locket the night before but had waited to destroy it until they found somewhere safe to camp._

 _Harry spoke with sadness dripping from his voice. "I'll do it. You stay warm." He needed something to do. Anything. He grabbed the sword of Gryffindor and made his way to the tent flap._

" _Are you sure?" asked Hermione. "I don't think you should do this alone."_

" _I'm sure." And he walked out into the clearing that they had cast enchantments on to seal them from others._

 _Harry did not know what to do. All he knew is that he needed to keep Hermione safe. Her coming with him had been a terrible mistake but what was he supposed to do now? He placed the locket on the ground and took the sword firmly in his hand. With the other, he held his wand. He took a deep breath before casting the charm on the locket for it to open._

 _At once, dark smoke billowed from the inside of the locket and an eerie voice shattered the silence around him._

" _You are nothing, Potter! No one loves you. The girl could never truly show you love." The voice began to laugh in a high pitched tone. "But I know what the deepest desires of your heart." Another curtain of smoke came out of the locket but this time, it took shape. Twisting and turning, the smoke made itself into the shape of Hermione._

 _Harry longed for her, wanted her to tell him everything was going to be ok, but instead, what she said, broke his heart. "You really thought I loved you? No one loves you. They only pretend to love you because you are the famous Harry Potter."_

 _Harry dropped the sword._ This was not real _, he told himself._ This is just a trap _. But, then, why did his heart feel like this? He clutched his head. Wrestling his feelings for Hermione. It was only when the voice inside the locket said, "You will die alone," that Harry acted. He grabbed the sword from the ground and plunged it into the center of the locket. It gave a painful shriek and then after convulsing for several seconds, fell silent and still._

 _Shaking, Harry gathered the pieces of the locket and the sword and put them into the bottomless sack that Hermione normally carried with her. He sat in the snow for what seemed like hours, trying to collect his thoughts._ He knew, _Harry thought._ He knew how I felt about Hermione. _How could he have let this happen. How was he supposed to protect her now?_

 _Fear racing in his heart, he thought of a plan. It was the only way._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _Hermione rolled over in her sleep._ This cot was more comfortable than I realized, _she thought. She slowly opened her eyes, hoping to see Harry so that she could apologize to him for the night before._

 _What she saw instead made her heart feel like stopping._

 _She was in her room, at home, in London._

" _What!" She looked around for some sign that the last seven years had not been a dream. "No, please." She scrambled around her room and found her spell books and wand laying on her bedside table. Everything was in it's rightful place._

What's going on? s _he thought._ Where's Harry? Why am I here?

 _She looked down at the foot of her bed to see two separate halves of Harry's wand with a note laying underneath it. She tore it from the sack and began to read._

 _My most precious Hermione,_

 _You are probably wondering what has happened by now. I am sorry to say this is part of a plan I had to keep you safe._

 _First, I must tell you. I lied. I do love you. With all of my heart. I had never realized until that moment. You have been with me through everything and I am grateful. You have no idea how long I've waited for someone to love me back._

 _Secondly, you have realized by now that I have brought you back to your home. I hope you will forgive me someday but I put a charm on you that put you into a comatose state so you would not wake while I moved you. I, also, removed the charm on your parents that you had put on them. It wasn't easy but they remember you again. You did a hell of a job on that spell. I shouldn't be so surprised. You were always very thorough. However, I kept any memory of my name out of their memories. Anything you've ever told them about me is gone._

 _If I survive I will come back to your house as soon as the war is over._

 _If I don't survive, I have left instructions for our friends to come and get you._

 _Don't bother trying to apparate or trying to leave. I have put advanced magic on your house so that no one can get in or go out. This is the only way to keep you safe. I have the books I got the spells from with me so that you cannot look up the counter spells. I made sure they were not in any of your other books, too._

 _Hermione, I love you with every fiber of my being. I know you are probably furious with me but I hope that one day you can forgive me._

 _I hope to see you soon._

 _With all of my heart,_

 _Harry_

 _Hermione dropped the letter, breathing fast._ No! NO! _Her body screamed for it not to be true. She had to get out of here and help him. That was her purpose!_

 _She turned on the spot but nothing happened. Running to her window, she opened it and could see the wave of the spell around the house._ He had actually done all of this. It was true. _She thought, heartbroken._

 _She tried for hours to lift the spells but it was no use._

 _She could not leave._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

 _Harry knew what had to be done._

 _He had watched Snape_ _'s memories in the pensieve. He had to die. That was the only way. Though he did feel a little scared of the unknown, Harry felt felt at peace. He was glad that he had told Ron what needed to be done in order to finish Voldemort once and for all. Neville would be the one to finished him off. He was stronger now than he had ever been before and he was sure Neville would take care of it. Ron would go the Granger's house to retrieve Hermione._

 _Hermione._

 _Harry hated himself for what he had done but it was for the best._

 _As he made his way to the Forbidden Forest under his invisibility cloak, he kept having the thought,_ This was it. I have to die. His life was coming to a close.

 _Harry froze. He had reached a small clearing when he rummaged in the rucksack around his neck until he found the snitch he had gotten from Dumbledore._

I open at the close.

 _Harry finally understood and suddenly the small ball opened with a quiet click. A wisp of silvery smoke rose out of it and took the form of…._

"' _Mione." Harry breathed, not believing his eyes. He knew this shadow figure was different than the one that had come out of the locket. He could feel the warmth radiating from her. He felt safe. Safety that only Hermione could provide._

 _She smiled. "Yes, Harry. Your parents will be along in a few minutes."_

" _My parents?" he repeated, puzzled. "But they're.. Hermione, are you…"his voice trailed off._

" _I'm alive, Harry, don't worry. This snitch has powers similar to the Mirror of Erised. It shows you your deepest desires." explained Hermione in the know-it-all voice he loved so much._

" _Hermione, I…" his voice cracked andhe was not sure he would be able to tell her what he needed to before it was too late. However, when she smiled at him, he finally found his voice. With a small sob, he continued, "I'm so sorry. I lied! I lied to you about my feelings. Hermione, I love you! I've always loved you. And now," his voice shuddered again, "it's too late. I wanted to have a lifetime with you. I was so stupid."_

 _Harry bent his head so she would not see his tears, but she had apparently moved closer to him because he felt her frame his face with her hands. He kept his eyes closed and reveled in her touch._

" _Harry, I love you, too. You have fought so bravely. I know you are sorry and I think I always knew you loved me." She smiled sadly at him. "After so long you will finally get the rest you deserve."_

 _He was crying freely now. "But I don't want to rest. I want you. Only you."_

 _Neither of them spoke for several minutes. He wanted nothing more than to take the real Hermione in his arms, to hold her and love her until they were both old. What he would not give for more time with her._

 _Around them, more wisps of silvery smoke started forming first his parents, then Remus and Tonks, and, finally, Sirius._

 _His mother spoke first. "Harry, we are so proud of you." She hugged him tightly as he tore his eyes away from Hermione for the first time. Hermione smiled and took a spot behind the others. Lily continued, "You have done wonderfully."_

" _But," started Harry, "I have to die. I lost."_

 _They all smiled at him but it was his father that responded. "You didn't lose. You ensured that everything would be taken care of, didn't you?" Harry nodded. "Then, have faith in your friends."_

 _There was still a question that Harry needed an answer to. "Does it hurt to die?"_

 _The others looked at one another for a brief moment._

 _Lupin answered this time, "It's like going to sleep after a very, very long day. You don't feel a thing." The others nodded in agreement._

 _Harry knew the clock was ticking but he did not want to leave. "Will you stay with me?" He looked around to each of them._

 _Lily put a hand on his shoulder. "Till the very end."_

 _They all walked in silence for what seemed like hours until they heard voices of the Death Eaters coming from a clearing where he knew Voldemort had been waiting for him._

 _They made their way into the clearing and Harry stared at Voldemort who stared at him in turn. Hermione had taken his hand and he closed his eyes for the last time._

" _I love you, Harry."_

 _There was a flash of green light._

 _And Harry fell._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _It had been three days since Harry trapped her in her childhood home. For three days she had barely eaten and had not slept a wink. All she had done was sob. She had refused to talk to her parents about what was bothering her because they would have no idea what she was talking about. They did not remember Harry, after all. But they were supportive, as usual._

 _All she could do was hope that he was alright and that killed her. She hated being unable to do anything. If Harry was dead, she did not know what she would do._

 _Suddenly, she felt it. Powerful magic. It was overwhelming and when she looked out of her window, she saw that the magic barrier surrounding her house had broken._

What did that mean? _She thought._ Was the war over? Was Harry coming to get her? Should she apparate or wait to see who would come to her? _She squinted into the bright sunlight and noticed someone walking in her yard but could not see who it was from the angle of her window. She rushed down the stairs, opened the front door and saw Harry standing on her doorstep, his arm raised slightly as if he were about to knock on the door. He was bruised and bloody but he looked victorious._

" _Hi, Hermione." he said, looking happy but he was fully prepared for what awaited him. "Before you say anything-"  
SMACK!_

 _Hermione had hit him across the face, tears running down her cheeks. He deserved it and he knew it. "I'm sorry, Hermione." It was all he could think to say._

" _HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed at him. "I have been worried sick about you! Thinking you were dead! How dare you, Harry Potter!"_

" _Hermione, please, I-"_

" _NO! It's my turn to talk!"she sobbed beating her fist into his chest. "You had no right! It was my choice to be there with you." She hit again with her other fist. "You thought it was such a good idea to abandon me because you wanted to be chivalrous and protect me. Let me tell you something, Potter! I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself. If I want to risk my life, its mine to give." She punched him with each sentence on the chest until finally she buried her face into his chest and sobbed. She was tired. So tired that she could not yell anymore, as much as she wanted to. "I was prepared for anything, prepared to fight. Why wouldn't you let me?"_

 _Harry knew she was angry at him but he did the only thing he had been longing to do for the last week and he wrapped his arms around her. "He would have used you, Hermione. The night I destroyed the locket…" He remembered what Voldemort-Hermione had said to him. But he knew that it was not real. The woman in his arms was the real thing. As angry as she was, he could feel her love. "He knew what I was feeling. He used your likeness to get into my head and my heart so I would not destroy it. I could not let that happen to the real you." He hugged her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I know I was stupid. I thought I knew what I was doing. I was wrong. I needed you."_

 _Hermione still had her hands balled into fists as they lay on his chest. These were words she had wanted to hear from him for three days. Now she had heard them and she felt heartbroken. She did not know what to say. Putting her arms around his waist, she hugged him back and began sobbing again._

 _They stood on the porch for a few more minutes as they cried._

 _Harry had known for a long time that this was where he belonged. He needed to be where Hermione was, he needed to be close to her._

" _Hermione, can you ever forgive me?" he pulled his face away, tears still streaming down his face._

 _As she looked into his eyes, she saw it for the first time. The love that she felt for him was echoed in his emerald pools. She had waited so long to see that look on his face. "On one condition."_

" _Anything."_

" _That you kiss me."_

 _Harry did not need telling twice. It was her words of encouragement that he had been waiting for. He bent his head and seized her mouth with his. Everything he had been feeling for the past week was reflected in that one kiss. He cupped her cheek with his hand and moved his thumb to wipe away her tears as they continued to kiss. Harry was on a mission, he was determined to show all of his love in this kiss, to show her it was all for her. He had died but their love could never keep them apart. He had the choice to move on after he had encountered Dumbledore. After a long discussion, he found out that he had been an unexpected Horcrux and that he could either go on living or continue on into death._

 _As much as the idea of seeing his parents and all of his family and friends that had perished, he needed to stay alive. For her._

 _They pulled apart, looking into each other's eyes. "Hermione, I love you. I will never stop telling you." He pressed his forehead to hers and they closed their eyes. "You are my everything and I will live my life for you. My heart is yours."_

" _And mine is yours, Harry."_

" _Harry!" Mr. and Mrs. Granger had come to the door to see what all of the commotion was about. "You poor thing. What happened to you?" Mrs. Granger pulled him inside and out of Hermione's arms. She took him to the couch where he sat, insisting he was fine. Being a mother, however, Jean Granger would not give up without a fight. Soon, he had been patched up and fed. "Now," she said, in a very Hermione-like tone, "what has happened to you?"_

 _Harry and Hermione explained what they had done. There were parts that her parents did not like to hear but they remained silent so they could hear the whole story. Harry took over and told them about what had happened to him in the forest but he had left out the details of the snitch. That was something he had preferred to keep to himself for now. Voldemort was dead and they were all safe. That was what mattered to him._

 _With his arm around her shoulder and his story finished, they all agreed that he and Hermione needed some rest. Harry had insisted that he take the couch but more than anything he had wanted to be with Hermione. Once everyone had gone to bed, he sneaked into her bedroom and fell asleep with her in his arms._

 _It was over. And now his real life could begin with Hermione._


	6. Author's Note

Author's Note!

Hey all! I am back at it again with some new content. I know it has been awhile and I hope this new story will be something you will all like. I also know that the first few chapters are not that long but I will fix that with up and coming chapters. I had originally planned on making this a one shot but then got to be longer than I anticipated so I broke it up into chapters.

You will be seeing a lot more of me, I can promise you! I will be finishing My Last Hope eventually but to get me back into fan fiction I had some one shot ideas that I will be writing soon. This story is almost finished so I decided to upload the first five chapters so you guys had something to do while I wrote the rest. I am having some problems but I will totally fix it, don't worry!

I feel that I have grown as a writer over the last few years so I really hope you enjoy this new content!

Thank you all for reading my stories, new and old! I love you all and can't wait to keep writing!

ASL


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Harry opened his eyes expecting his daughter to scowl at him in that same way her mother did but instead her expression was that of surprise. He just wished he knew whether it was good or bad surprise.

"Wow." Lily sighed.

"Lily," started Harry. "You have to understand that I wanted no harm to come to your mother. I would gladly lay down my own life if it meant she was safe."

"Daddy, calm down." said Lily. "I think you did the right thing." Harry stared at her in disbelief. No one, not even Ron took his side on this subject. But his own flesh and blood defended his decision. He could not help but feel more love for his daughter than he though possible. Lily turned to her mother. "Don't get me wrong, we know you were a brilliant badass…"

Hermione looked at her incredulously. "Um, excuse me? 'Were'?" They laughed before she added. "And don't say 'ass'."

Lily smirked. "Sorry, 'are'. But he needed to keep you safe. Voldemort would have easily used you as bait for dad. I would have done the same thing."

"Exactly!" said Hermione.

"Love makes you do things you never would have expected of yourself." This time it was Harry who spoke. "Love is the single greatest feeling that humans can experience. Your thoughts are only for that person and you would do anything just to see them smile. When you see them, your heart feels like it bangs against you chest as if trying to escape you and run to them. When you can't be with them, you feel pain that sears through to your very soul. And then when they return to you, it feels better than flying on a broomstick.

"Your mother may not remember this but when we went back to Hogwarts to complete our seventh year, but she would scold me for not paying attention in classes." Hermione rolled her eyes as if to say "When did you ever pay attention in class" but she remained silent and Harry smiled. "What she probably didn't realize was that that the reason I wasn't paying attention in classes was because, while she hanging on every word the teachers said, all I could do was look at her. Your mother would brush her arm against mine when taking notes. Other times she would tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear as she wrote, occasionally glancing up at the board to make sure she was copying it correctly. It was mesmerizing to me. It was a miracle I graduated." The two women laughed.

"Love is when you notice all of the little things about that person that you never noticed before. You lay in bed at night fighting the urge to go and wake them up so that you can just be in their company and talk to them even though you just left them. You dream about their laugh and how pure they make you feel. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past because they see no fault in you.

"In the years following the war, I would have night terrors, screaming to high heaven about Voldemort and all the people he killed. Your mother was the only one who could calm me down and she was always there for me, no matter what. They are your angel. Your saving grace."

With his last few words, he looked at Hermione, trying to pour every ounce of love he had into this brief encounter and he saw that there were tears streaming down her face. He turned, finally, to his daughter, grabbing Hermione's hand in his own. "Do you feel this way about someone?"

Lily had a glazed look in her eyes as she responded, "Maybe" but Harry could see that she was thinking about someone.

"Well," began Harry, getting to his feet and pulling Hermione with him. "It seems like you have some thinking to do." He bent down to kiss her on the cheek. "Good night, sweetheart."

Before they could leave, Lily jumped to her feet and hugged her parents. "Night, mom and dad, I love you."

They both smiled down at her. "We love you, too."

 **Author's Note:**

 **I know this is a short chapter but I am quite satisfied with it. There is only more chapter left in this story! I hope you enjoy it! Don't worry I have some more ideas for new stories and I get new ideas everyday! I can't wait to write them for you all. Thank you for all of the support and let me know what you think!**

 **ASL**


	8. Author's Note 2

Hey guys!

I am still thinking about you, don't worry. This last week has been crazy and now I'm finally able to relax for a bit. The school I work at is on Spring Break next week so I will have some downtime so this final chapter will be coming out within the next couple of days. I promise I will keep in touch with you and be a better writer for you all with updates!

See you soon!

ASL


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Later that night, Harry and Hermione lay in bed with Hermione cuddled into Harry's side. Harry's fingers drifted softly over her arm that was draped over his stomach, his other arm tucked around her.

"So," began Hermione, "who do you think Lily was thinking about earlier?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I really don't think it's Scorpius."

"You mean 'you hope it's not Scorpius'." said Hermione giggling, thinking back of their feuds with Draco in school.

"Naw," scoffed Harry. "Scorpius is a good kid. Even Draco had gotten better over the years. I'll tell you who I'd like it to be…"

"Teddy." finished Hermione.

Harry turned his head to look down at her. "How did you know?"

Hermione looked into his eyes with a grin. "Because it's who I would want her to be with." They laughed and spent several minutes in silence until Hermione spoke again. "Did you mean everything you said earlier?"

"What did I say earlier?" asked Harry.

"About how love feels?"

"Oh, that." Hermione slapped his chest and Harry laughed. "Of course I did, 'Mione. You have no idea how much you kept me going through those times." Harry hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Hermione, there's something I never told you about that night with Voldemort."

Hermione propped herself up on her elbow to get a better look a him. She had a look of suspicion on her face. "What do you mean?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Do you remember what words were etched into the snitch that I got from Dumbledore?"

"Of course," said Hermione, "'I open at the close'."

"Well, when I was walking through the forest to meet with Voldemort, I was thinking about how my life was about to end and then the meaning of that message was made clear." Hermione gasped in understanding. "Well, I reached into my bag and took out the snitch, it opened and a shadowy figure came out of it."

"You mean, like the Horcruxes?" asked Hermione.

"Not quite. This time it was a warming feeling surrounding me.I knew I was safe." Harry closed his eyes, remembering how he felt that night. "Even though, I was heading towards my death, I wasn't afraid. Do you know why?" When Hermione shook her head, Harry continued, "When the shadows took form, it showed me my parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and…you."

Hermione gaped at him. "But how?"

"It must have wanted to show me who I needed the most. At that time, I needed those who I've lost over the years. I needed the ones I loved. I needed you." he said. "You all stood around me as Voldemort cast the spell. You were the last thing I heard. You told me that you loved me. With that, I could die happy."

Hermione, now with tears in her eyes, leaned over and kissed Harry. "I've always loved you, Harry. Even when I was so angry at you for leaving me. I never stopped loving you and I never will. Why did you keep this from me for so long?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. I just felt like no one would appreciate it the way I did or believe me."

Hermione laughed slightly. "Harry, we live in a world where magic is real. It's kind of hard to say anything is unbelievable."

Harry joined her in laughter. "I guess you're right." He looked at her again. "You are the love of my life, you know that?"

"I better be." retorted Hermione, smirking. "I love you, too, Harry."

Lily took a seat at her desk, quill poised above the parchment.

Taking a deep breath, she began to writer.

 _Dear Lysander,_

 _I think we need to talk. Can we meet up at Florian Fortescue's when we go to Diagon Alley next week?…_

 _ **Thank you guys so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it. For anyone who might not know, Lysander is Luna and Rolf Scamander. I wanted to leave you guys with a bit of a cliffhanger so that you guys could imagine what happens next. I was batting around the idea of doing a sequel with Lily and Lysander. Let me know what you think.**_

 _ **Sorry that the dialogue between Harry and Hermione was so weak. I was really trying to to make it cute and I hit a writer's block. I might rewrite this chapter in the future but now it's onward! I will be working on my next project. It will be more of a fluffy/comedy. I've been wanting to write this one for awhile and I'm laughing just thinking about it.**_

 _ **I will see you all soon!**_

 _ **ASL**_


End file.
